The One Stop Shop: Integrating Behavioral Healthcare and Addiction Treatment in the Rural Primary Care Setting.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM

Location: International Ballroom Section E OMNI

Presenter(s)

Sydney Cox, DSW, LCSW, LCADC

Substance Use Treatment Coordinator
Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation
Emmalena, Kentucky
Jonathan Hatton, DO

Family Practice and Addiction Medicine Physician
Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation
Jenkins, Kentucky
Anita Collins-McCullum, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C, CARN-AP

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation
Whitesburg, KY
Sonji Adams, LPCC, LCADC

Director of Behavioral Health Services
Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation
Whitesburg, Kentucky

Moderator(s)

Robert L. DuPont, MD

President
Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc.
Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Member, Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board
Chevy Chase, MD

Southeastern Kentucky has some of the highest addiction rates, poverty rates, and health disparity rates in the country. The region possesses many unique traits that complicate healthcare outcomes, such as transportation difficulties and a culture of self-reliance. Operating as a "one stop shop," Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation (MCHC), a primary care clinic located in rural Kentucky, provides a variety of services under one roof to combat pastoral barriers. With services ranging from OB-GYN to podiatry to pediatrics and more, MCHC offers a multitude of medical services while practicing culturally competent care. Catering to the Appalachian culture of self-reliance (a culture that is more trusting of and receptive to local providers), MCHC has improved healthcare retention and healthcare acquisition in the region.

In 2016, to meet the overwhelming need for addiction treatment and behavioral health services, MCHC implemented integrated behavioral healthcare and addiction treatment. At MCHC, an individual in addiction can receive treatment for both substance use and physical wellness. A patient can receive an eye exam, psychiatric care, alternative pain management, and treatment for high blood pressure ― all under one roof, all on the same day. This integrated care model has reduced treatment barriers for addiction and consequential physical health issues. Presenters intend to guide other rural primary care clinics to replicate this model to improve health outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the specific treatment barriers and cultural caveats that impact acquisition of addiction treatment and behavioral health treatment in the rural primary care setting
Discuss implementation of culturally competent and barrier cognizant integrated behavioral health and addiction treatment in the rural primary care setting to improve health outcomes
Identify the components necessary to integrate effective behavioral health and addiction treatment in a rural primary care setting